There’s a misconception surrounding Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson’s rookie-season success. MTL48’s high point totals are not a result of him being sheltered in the usual sense. Quite the opposite.
Hutson’s high-end playmaking skills are best leveraged by deploying him alongside top-six forwards, which MTL does on a frequent basis. But playing those minutes also exposes Hutson to the other teams’ best skaters.
The biggest key to Hutson’s success, then, is his ability to play good enough defense to earn 5v5 minutes with (and against) quality players.
Hutson, like Quinn Hughes before him, is on his way to mastering the art of playing conservative defense in an aggressive way.
Watch the video above to understand this apparently contradiction.
This Workshop is Addressed To
Offensive-minded Ds graduating to a tougher level of competition
Scouts & prospect analysts looking to bridge the gap between junior production and pro potential
Video Outline
Hutson’s rush defense
Skating forward as much as possible
Backward starts/crossovers/pivots
Where he can be exploited
Hutson’s in-zone defense
Herding in man-on-man defense
Using zone defense to transition to offence
Bonus
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